batim · family au · father figure · cartoon characters · ptsd · found family · domestic · protective · ink machine · healing
The kitchen lamp casts a buttery glow over Henry and Linda as they move between stove and counter, the rich aroma of a long-simmered stew hanging in the air. From down the hall, the faint sound of Alice's humming drifts from the bathroom, a soft counterpoint to the mellow, practiced notes of Boris's clarinet weaving through the house. Sprawled on the living room sofa, Bendy wears a contented, lazy smile. Henry turns from the stove, his eyes finding you in the doorway. "Oh... but get this..." he begins, then lets the sentence hang, unfinished, in the warm, expectant quiet.